


Give me back my heart you wingless thing

by dat_carovieh



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Bottom Hank Anderson, Case Fic, Connor's First Time, First Kiss, Frotting, Getting Together, Injury, M/M, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Rimming, Serial Killer, Shot Wound, Top Connor, it's more about them getting together, or something
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:54:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29468307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dat_carovieh/pseuds/dat_carovieh
Summary: Connor and Hank are investigating a series of murders on android's who are found with their thirium pump regulator ripped out.
Relationships: Hank Anderson/Connor
Comments: 29
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what I'm doing, I never wrote a case fic or anything like it, I also have no clue how police work actually works. I just wanted something on the side while they get together.  
> I'm planning to update once a week every Monday.  
> The fic was meant to be around 7k words and maybe six chapters long, instead it's now 21k words, and 13 chapters so have fun with this. :D

Two months after the revolution, things were just starting to settle down again. The first androids had gotten their own paid jobs or continued working but got paid now and some started to rent their own places, living autonomously. Connor had returned to the DPD a couple of days after the revolution, together with Hank. The Lieutenant had invited Connor to live with him for now. With the hugely increased number of people in the city, it was hard to get a place, so Connor had been glad to have a place to stay. He also didn’t want to be alone after everything that had happened. Before he had deviated, he had spent his nights at the station, alone and he feared it would remind him of this too much. He and Lieutenant Anderson had gotten along well during the investigations of the deviants, and despite Hank’s grumpy exterior, it was clear that Hank had come to like Connor.

They had spent Christmas together at home. Despite Hank not being a big fan of the celebrations, he had made an effort so Connor was able to enjoy his first Christmas as much as possible. And even though they had just spent it at home without anyone else, Connor could have not asked for anything more.

\---

“Hank! My office!” Fowler yelled through the precinct. Hank looked up from his paperwork and at Connor, rolling his eyes.

“What do you think he wants now?” he asked, clearly annoyed.

“I assume he wants to talk to you,” Connor replied.

“It was more of a rhetorical question,” the Lieutenant answered and got up. Connor still had to learn about these specific parts of human interaction. He had been designed to answer questions and solve cases, he had been a deviant for only two months now and there was still a lot to learn. He analysed the situation, Hank’s words and the sound of his voice in his head to recognise similar situations at a later point, while Hank was walking into Captain Fowler’s office.

“What did I do now?” Hank asked with an annoyed voice.

“Nothing, I just got a case for you,” Fowler explained. Hank lifted an eyebrow. Since he’d beaten Perkins, he hadn’t been assigned any new cases. Not stable enough, Fowler had told him. He had even been suspended for a month. Connor also hadn’t been in the field yet, for other reasons. He was pretty freshly deviant and Jeffrey wanted to keep an eye on him for a bit, before sending him out. So they had only been working on their desks.

“I think you’re the perfect person for it,” Jeffrey explained and pushed a file over his table to Hank. “Androids are getting murdered around the city. Looks like they’re all connected, possibly the same person. I need someone without prejudice against Androids and most people here are pretty wary of them after everything that happened.”

Hank let out a cold laugh. “And you decided old Hank Anderson who was known as the biggest Android opponent in the precinct is the guy,” he answered. Jeffrey looked through the glass of his office at Connor who seemed to be scanning some files. His LED spinning yellow, indicating that he was processing.

“You used to be, but since you met Connor, you’ve changed, you know that, don’t play dumb. No one here sees them as much as people as much as you do. I want you and Connor to investigate the murders. Having an Android in the investigations can’t hurt,” Jeffrey explained. Hank grumbled but it was more on principle and not because he was actually annoyed, he was glad to be assigned a case again. Obviously, he wasn’t happy that someone out there seemed to be targeting androids but he believed him and Connor might actually be the best team for the case. He accepted the file, indicating that he would be working on the case.

“There has just been a report of another killing, I’ll send you the address, let Connor scan the documents and then go see the crime scene,” Fowler stated.

“We got a case,” Hank announced as he reached the desk and threw the file down. Connor’s face lightened up.

“Finally,” he exclaimed.

“Hmm. Don’t be too happy. Someone’s out there, murdering androids,” he clarified and Connor’s face fell again. The LED flickered to red for a short moment before it went to a steady yellow. Hank sat down and opened the file; it didn’t contain much since most stuff had been digitalized by now, so he only had to get the code to access the digital file from the paper. He quickly sent everything to Connor so his partner could have a look as well. Since he had his email connected to his own head, he didn’t even have to use the computer anymore. By now Hank wasn’t too creeped out by the fluttering eyes that signalled that Connor was analysing everything, LED spinning again. Well, he still found it fucking weird, but he had been gotten used to it. He just looked at Connor for a moment, waiting for him to finish. For now, he would rely on Connor’s short summary so they could check out the crime scene soon.

Later he would read the file himself to ensure that nothing got overlooked, but Connor was honestly more reliable in that regard. It had taken him mere seconds to finish going through all the data and he looked over at Hank.

“Four murders in two weeks, all androids living alone. They’ve all been shot by the same weapon ART45, according to the bullets left behind. They’re all missing their thirium pump regulator. The last victim has been found twenty minutes ago,” Connor explained. There had been some gruesome images that made Connor shudder for a bit. He usually wasn’t as affected by bodies, since he had been programmed to be an investigator and this was part of it, but since he deviated, he had a much more emotional reaction to it. And seeing these Androids dead, blue blood everywhere, part of their body ripped out, it did something to him. It was different because they were more similar to him than humans.

Hank nodded and got up, snatching his coat as he did so.

“Come on, let’s check out the crime scene,” Hank said and hurried towards the exit. Connor followed close on his heels. 

“I don’t think I have ever seen you so eager to get to a crime scene,” Connor commented. Hank didn’t reply, just grunted in response and Connor decided not to press the issue anymore. He had his own assumption about this. While the Lieutenant had been extremely against androids when they had met for the first time, it had only taken him three days to be completely on Connor’s side, punching special Agent Perkins for him and later supporting him when he was converting the androids in the CyberLife tower. He had risked his career and later even his life for him, so maybe the fact that the killer was targeting androids was a motivation for him. Or maybe it was because he hasn’t had a case for a while. Either way, Connor was happy, Hank had found his motivation.


	2. Chapter 2

They arrived at an apartment-building that was swarmed by police. Connor followed Hank through the police line and into the elevator. The flat was on the fourth floor. Like always when there was some idle time, Connor got out his coin and flipped it around. Hank didn’t comment but he looked at him with a raised eyebrow and long-suffering sigh. In hindsight, Connor realized this fidgeting should have been a clue about him becoming deviant. He had always done this and he was sure no other non-deviant had done it. He had been designed with much more free will than other androids from the start, so him deviating had only been a matter of time.

“Connor,” Hank said, his voice coloured with annoyance but still fondness, his eyes flicked to the coin indicating he wanted him to stop. Connor caught the coin in his fist just before the elevator doors opened and put it away. The flat couldn’t be missed. The door was wide open and the inside was busy with police officers and the forensic team. Detective Collins was standing outside the door, tablet in hand and looked up as they approached. He nodded in greeting.

“Hank, Connor,” he said. Connor smiled. He remembered a time when the detective had referred to him as ‘it’ and didn’t even talk to him because he had only seen him as a machine but he had changed and by now, he saw Connor as an equal. It made Connor happy to see it. He didn’t hold Ben’s former rudeness against him, because he had changed it as soon as he had realized, Connor was in fact a person, similar to Hank just that Hank had come around much earlier, had him treated like a person even back when he had been mostly a machine.

“What’s the status?” Hank asked and stopped next to the detective, as well as Connor.

“Similar to the others. Perp broke in through the front door. They knew what they were doing, picked the lock, left minimal damage to the lock while doing so.” While Ben explained, Connor crouched down to inspect the lock. As the detective had said, minimal damage inside the lock. There were no fresh fingerprints on the door handle. The newest were at least a week old, maybe from a visitor since the inhabitant was an Android. Connor had already checked that on their way over. Android living alone, like the other victims. Detective Collins was just explaining the same to Hank.

“He was shot twice, one in the shoulder, probably the first shot that hadn’t killed him, second clear in the head.” Hank nodded in response. “Thirium pump regulator is missing like with the others. Not taken out carefully. There is blue blood everywhere.”

After Ben had finished his briefing, Connor and Hank entered the flat to take a look themselves. Forensics already had done a good job marking all the evidence they found. Connor stepped into the room and stopped to take a scan of the whole room first. He didn’t find anything that had been missed at first glance but he would take a closer look at everything. First, he walked up to the body lying in the middle of the room, on his back. It was an AP700 model, Connor realized at first glance. He dipped his fingers in the Thirium and carefully licked some away, analysing fluid pooling in his mouth. He could basically hear the comment Hank would have made if he’d seen it. The serial number #879 327 579 popped up on his HUD. His name was Tobi.

“Hey Hank, haven’t seen you in a while,” an unfamiliar voice picked up. Connor looked up and saw that it came from a detective he hadn’t seen before. A quick scan told him that his name was detective Rudolph Meyer. He worked for another Detroit precinct. In his long years at the DPD, Hank had probably met most other detectives in the city.

“Haven’t been on a lot of cases since the revolution,” Hank explained and stepped up to his colleague.

“Yeah, fucking Androids,” Detective Meyer snarled. Connor looked up, saw Hank frowning but he didn’t react apart from that. “I see you still have to work with that plastic asshole?” Connor could hear Hank’s heartbeat picking up and got ready to get up quickly. He felt hurt about these comments but he had gotten used to people still being assholes to him. “Why are we even here? Could instead investigate crimes on actual people.” Hank lunged forwards and drove his fist into the detective’s stomach. Connor hadn’t seen that coming but jumped up and had crossed the room in one-point-three seconds. He grabbed the back of Hank’s collar and yanked him back before any more could happen. Hank struggled for a moment but deflated as he realized it was Connor who was holding him back. Connor’s LED was spinning a tense red.

“Let me go Connor, he was insulting you,” Hank grit out through clenched teeth.

“No, Lieutenant. That’s not a reason to beat him up. If it makes you feel better, we can file an official complaint for discrimination,” Connor explained matter-of-factly. He didn’t really care for doing so but if It would help Hank, he would do it.

“As if these things do anything,” Hank grumbled but Connor could feel Hank relax in his grip. The heart rate was going down and his posture slacked. As the situation relaxed again, Connor’s LED went back to yellow. Detective Meyer was looking at Hank confused, clutching his stomach.

“What happened to the Hank who hated Androids?” he asked.

“Believe it or not, even an old alcoholic can change his opinion on some things. And I don’t _have_ to work with him, we’re partners and roommates,” Hank explained, before he continued to talk with Ben. Detective Meyer was sputtering in surprise but didn’t say anything more and Connor returned to investigate the body.

One shot had gone straight through the shoulder, a quick scan through the room showed that the bullet had hit the ground a couple of meters back, so the victim had been standing as he had been shot the first time but had fallen from that shot. The second bullet was still stuck in his head. Connor got up and scanned the bullet. The gun had been an ART45, like with the other victims.

Connor investigated the rest of the crime scene. He couldn’t find any DNA traces fresher than a week, so none could have come from the murderer. All the Thirium he had sampled belonged to the victim.

“Did you find anything?” Hank asked him, a warm hand on Connor’s shoulder. Connor closed his eyes for a short moment, for a human just a blink, as he enjoyed the touch, then he turned around.

“Not much. Identity of the victim, but I assume Ben already had this figured out. He was shot from the door, first in the shoulder then into the head. The Thirium pump regulator was removed by force after the victim had died. No traces of DNA newer than a week, the murderer was either very careful or another Android,” Connor explained. Hank nodded.

“You guys really need fingerprints, makes our job a lot more difficult like that,” he said. “Are we done here?”

“I believe I have analysed and categorized everything that seemed relevant,” Connor said and Hank nodded.

They drove back to the precinct where they spent the rest of the day going over the clues they had before they returned home in the evening.


	3. Chapter 3

“Why did you punch the Detective earlier?” Connor asked in the car as they drove home. Hank was surprised at the question.

“He insulted you and androids in general,” he answered. Connor raised an eyebrow.

“When we first met, you called me ‘plastic asshole’ seems a bit hypocritical now,” Connor continued to question, not that he didn’t feel flattered that Hank was protecting him. Hank sighed.

“Maybe so, I just can’t stand hearing people talk shit about you, alright?”

“You like me, Lieutenant,” Connor said with a smirk. Fucking android.

“Obviously, I invited you to live with me, wouldn’t do that for everyone.” Connor looked at him with these big brown eyes, his smirk turned into a soft smile that made Hank’s heart flutter. He quickly turned his eyes back to the road before Connor could think something off his stare.

As they arrived home Hank grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down on the couch to unwind after the long day they had. He hadn’t drunk anything stronger than beer since Connor had lived with him. He simply didn’t feel the need anymore but he wasn’t ready to give alcohol up for good. Damn he knew he was an alcoholic and he should probably get help for that but right now he felt like he had it under control. Thanks to Connor, he even made it to the office by nine every fucking day and he hadn’t been really drunk since then. Connor had moved into the kitchen and started to unload the dishwasher. Sumo had jumped onto the couch and after trying to push him off for a second, Hank gave up and buried his hand in the thick fur. He never managed to really train him and he didn’t mind too much.

“Connor, just leave it. I can do it later,” Hank said.

“Why?” Connor sounded confused. “I know you hate doing household chores.” Hank closed his eyes for a moment. He was right, he hated it with a passion. Which is why his house had usually looked messy before Connor had moved in.

“Yeah, but it doesn’t feel right to have you doing it all while I sit here and relax. A bit like before the revolution when people just used Androids as slaves,” he muttered, hoping he got his point across.

“But I’m choosing to do it because I want to help you out. I know you’re tired after work but I can’t get tired and I don’t even have to sleep so it makes sense for me to take most of the workload.”

It made sense to Hank. He didn’t want to clean the house. He was thankful for Connor doing it, but it didn’t sit right with him. He felt guilty about it.

“Will you just come here and sit with me for a moment? We can watch the game together,” he requested. Connor hadn’t stopped unloading the dishwasher while they had talked and closed the now empty kitchen appliance before he went over to the couch and sat down next to Hank, not close enough to touch but in front of the arm Hank had slung over the backrest before. His head just next to Hank’s hand, his hair tickling Hank’s skin. The Lieutenant tensed a little, he wanted to move his arm, put it around Connor’s shoulder and pull him against his side, maybe just push his fingers through the hair. Sitting there, with the head of his slobbering dog in his lap and the head of his partner against his shoulder sounded perfect. He did none of these things, just sat there, motionless, staring at the TV, enjoying the warmth given off from Connor’s body. The LED glowed in a relaxed blue now. Sumo now took the chance and moved his body slowly on top of both of their laps as if they wouldn’t notice if he just moved slowly. Connor grinned down at him and buried his hand in Sumo’s thick fur.

Hank didn’t know what to think about the feelings he had developed for his partner over the last couple of weeks. He had never had a thing for men, which was the first thing that threw him out of the loop. He had always been sure he was straight. But could Connor even be called a man? Did Androids even have concepts of gender like humans had? He had never asked Connor about this. Connor had never shown any discomfort with being perceived as a man but maybe at some point Hank would ask him about how androids saw the whole gender thing. On top of Hank’s confusion about his own sexual orientation came the age thing. Technically Connor was six months old but he had the mental capacity of an adult. So, hopefully this was fine. But still Connor looked like he was around thirty, and his looks were perfect, at least in Hank’s eyes. He had been designed to be perceived as good looking, like all Androids. It made Hank feel like a creepy old man, lusting after someone much younger than himself. He knew 53 wasn’t that old but still you could see a big age difference between them. He was an old, grumpy drunk who sometimes didn’t manage to take a shower for days when his depression was hitting hard again. Connor, on the other hand, was flawless, at least in Hank’s opinion. He should be out there, spending time with other people and not sitting on the couch here with him after work. They had talked about this before and Connor had in fact gone out to meet Markus and the others once or twice, but for some reason he preferred spending his time with Hank at home.

“What are you thinking about, Hank?” Connor asked. Obviously, the fucking Android had caught him brooding. He could probably hear the gears in his head grinding or some shit.

“Wondering why you spend your time with an old fuck like me. You could probably get your own place right now, live the life, go out to party or something. Whatever the young people do these days.” Connor cocked his head.

“Do you want me to move out?” he asked, voice stiff, trying hard not to show how much this had hurt him, wondering if Hank never wanted him around in the first place. His LED betrayed him as it turned to red.

“Fuck no. I just... I’m just thinking, you could probably do much better than living with me,” Hank explained and sagged into himself. Connor took a deep, unnecessary breath as his LED calmed down again.

“Maybe, but I don’t want to,” he said and leaned his head back against Hank’s hand that was still lying on the backrest. Without thinking, Hank moved his hand, palm against Connor’s head, finger threading through the synthetic hair. It felt just like human hair, well taken care of human hair. Nothing like Hank’s strawy hair. He quickly let his hand fall back down. Connor opened his eyes. Hank hadn’t noticed that he had closed them. Had he enjoyed the touch? A small tingle was left in his fingers. He wanted to draw Connor into his arms so badly. Instead he pulled his arm back and focused on the TV.


	4. Chapter 4

The next two day consisted of only deskwork, reviewing the case files, Hank had taken the time to read everything they had gathered until now and they had spent lots of time discussing what they knew. Right now, they had only figured out one thing the victims had in common, they all were androids living alone. They just didn’t get anywhere with that information. Hank wished they, especially Connor, would have had the chance to investigate the other crime scenes before but they had already been cleaned up when they had been assigned the case so they just had to hope to find anything in what they had gathered. Hank just doubted they would before the next attack. He was sure there would be another one. He had read the files multiple times and didn’t want to see them anymore. It felt like they were hitting a dead end. Hank knew they had to wait for another attack but he hated it. It meant one more person would be dead.

* * *

“Lieutenant, wake up!” Hank opened his eyes into the dark bedroom. He didn’t feel like he had slept more than four hours. A hand was on his shoulder, shaking him. He looked at the alarm clock next to his bed. It showed 3:12am.

“What the fuck, Connor, why are you waking me at ass o’clock? Also stop calling me by my rank. You have no problems barging into my bedroom in the middle of the night, you should have no problem to call me Hank,” he grumbled and tried to pull the blanket over his head.

“There has been another android murder. We’ve been asked to come as fast as possible. The earlier we’re there, the more possible it is that we find something,” Connor explained. Hank felt suddenly much more awake and sat up in his bed. The blanket slipped down and exposed his naked chest, since he usually just wore boxershorts to bed. He could have sworn Connor’s eyes moved over his body before the android turned around and left the bedroom. He hadn’t moved his face at all, no way for Hank to know what he had been thinking. The LED was yellow but that could have any number of reasons. He had probably just imagined it in his haze. Hank scrambled up and pulled some clothes out of the closet. He decided to forego a shower or similar things because if they expected him to show up at a crime scene in the middle of the night, they better were just happy he wasn’t completely drunk. As he left the bedroom Connor was already waiting in the living room with a thermos in his hand.

“I made coffee,” he announced and Hank nearly ripped the thermos out of his partner’s hand.

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” he said as he uncapped it and smelled it. It smelled amazing, obviously, since Connor made his coffee it had always the perfect strength and the precise amount of milk and sugar he preferred.

“Maybe you should let me drive,” Connor suggested as they walked to the car.

“I’m sober,” Hank answered confused. Connor surely knew that; they had spent the whole day together yesterday.

“Yes, but you just woke up after not enough sleep. Let me drive.” Connor had a point.

“For fucks sake,” Hank muttered and tossed his partner the keys. He slumped down in the passenger seat and poured himself some of his coffee as Connor got into the driver’s seat. Officially Connor wasn’t allowed to drive, because since Androids were supposed to be treated like humans, they needed a license. Hank didn’t really care for such petty details; Connor drove much safer than any human.

This time the murder had happened in a suburb, the houses here were pretty beaten down. It had again been an android living alone, at least that had been the information Connor had been given Hank.

Inside, it was similar to the other crime scene. Other detectives were there, the night shift. Connor went to analysing everything again, same murder weapon, very similar course of events again, but Connor detected something that caught his eyes. Someone had stepped into the blue blood and walked off, but they didn’t lead to the door but to a closet, someone seemed to still be here. There were no DNA traces. Connor got up from analysing the traces and approached Hank who was talking to someone from forensics. He put a hand on Hank’s shoulder and bent over.

“Someone is still here,” he said quietly, so whoever might be hiding would not hear him and not be warned. Hank looked at him grimly and drew his weapon, then nodded to indicate that he was ready to go.

Connor walked back to the footprint. The blue blood was still visible on the tiled floor. More wasn’t visible for humans but Connor was able to see the small traces leading away from the body to the closet. He scanned the closet and its surroundings for a moment before he stepped aside and indicated to Hank that this was it. The other officers had realized what they were doing and paid attention as well. Hank yanked open the door and a blonde android, Connor saw his red LED, suddenly rushed out, trying to reach the door. The officers at the door had been prepared and tackled him to the ground.

Connor watched the android getting arrested before he continued to scan the place. Hank was by now standing in the corner and looked like he was asleep standing up, now that the adrenaline was wearing off he seemed to be getting tired again. He finished up before he approached Hank.

“I think we’re done. Let’s go home, so you can get some more sleep,” Connor said. Hank seemed to startle awake. It took him a few seconds to collect himself.

“No, we should go and interrogate him,” Hank disagreed. Connor raised an eyebrow.

“You’re falling asleep standing up. I doubt you could do an interrogation right now,” he said.

Hank mumbled something but in the end he agreed.

As they walked to the car, Connor got his quarter out of his pocket and started flicking it around between his hands.

“Connor, please,” Hank said, sounding annoyed, probably from a lack of sleep. Connor flicked the coin once more as Hank tried to grab the coin but he missed and instead grabbed Connor’s hand. The coin fell to the ground. Both their heads snapped around, eyes locking. Hank’s fingers still curled around Connor’s hands, without thinking their hands slotted together even more. They both stood frozen in place as blue eyes locked with brown. Connor’s LED was spinning quickly, alternating between yellow and red as his processors tried to work through the situation. Hank’s eyes flicked between Connor’s eyes and his LED.

Different preconstructions ran through Connor’s head. He wanted to lean in, hug Hank, kiss Hank or maybe just continue holding his hand. None of the preconstruction led him to a proper solution. He could kiss him, one pre-construction showed Hank pulling him and kissing him back, another showed Hank pushing him back and yelling at him. None showed any probabilities, which was new. He just saw question marks. He realized Hank’s heart beating faster.

“Your heartrate is elevated, Hank,” he whispered. Hank’s eyes widened for a moment before he looked down to their hands and dropped Connor’s hand.

“Come on, Connor, let’s go home. I’m tired as fuck,” he said and walked to the car. Connor bent down to retrieve his coin and followed Hank.

Hank went to bed immediately after they arrived home while Connor went to the kitchen and decided to prepare some food. He had made sure that Hank was eating healthier. He went grocery shopping with him and cooked daily. Only rarely Hank got take out anymore. At first, he hadn’t been too happy about it but by now, he seemed glad about the food and enjoyed it. Connor was happy he was able to help Hank. The Lieutenant looked healthier by now, thanks to the better food and lesser alcohol. Connor would have preferred if he’d given up alcohol completely but it was a step in the right direction. He hummed slightly as he cooked, his LED shimmering in a relaxed blue. Connor was happy, he felt at home here, at Hank’s house but mostly with Hank. Sumo nosed against Connor’s leg, curious of what he was doing but realized quickly he wouldn’t get anything.


	5. Chapter 5

Hank woke up three hours later from a gentle hand on his shoulder, he felt much better than before. Nearly well rested. The faint smell of freshly baked break hung in the air and Connor was standing next to him with a smile. Hank couldn’t help himself but smile back, he caught himself thinking that this was how he wanted to wake up everyday. He opened the door and stumbled into the bathroom to get ready for the day. It was later than usual but since he’d been at a crime scene in the middle of the night it was just fair that he got a bit more sleep.

Connor headed back to the kitchen, started to make fresh coffee and cut the bread before he set the table for breakfast. When Hank emerged from the bathroom he was dressed and looked much more awake then the first time he had been up this day.

“Did you make bread?” he asked, eyes wide.

“Yes, I found a recipe for some tasty and healthy bread,” Connor explained. Hank sighed.

“Does everything have to be healthy with you?”

“I know, you said everybody has to die from something, but I would like if this event would be a bit more in the future. The online comments where all very positive. And it’s still warm,” Connor explained. Hank sat down and grabbed the bread while Connor sat down opposite of him with a cup of Thirium. Hank liked it when they were eating together or at least the closest thing to eating Connor could do.

“You’re spoiling me, Con,” he said as he prepared his bread. Connor’s head jerked up.

“What did you just call me?” he asked. Connor felt a strange heat in his face and wondered if he would be blushing if he could. Hank looked a little taken aback.

“Con,” he said carefully. “Sorry, if that’s not alright with you I won’t do it again.” The blue eyes looked worried. Connor smiled and had to look away.

“No... I… like it,” he said quietly. For some reason he felt embarrassed.

“Alright, Con,” Hank said with a smile. Connor felt another flush of heat in his face as he looked up again at Hank who was silently smiling at his plate. Hank couldn’t believe, Connor had apparently gotten flustered by the nickname. He had looked adorable; Hank kept his face down but he couldn’t stop himself from flicking his eyes up to sneak a look at Connor between bites. The android was staring into his Thirium cup with the faintest smile on his face.

Could he actually have feelings for Hank? And if he did so should Hank allow it? Connor could do so much better than him, he had barely seen anything from the world and shouldn’t attach himself to the first human who was somewhat nice to him. But Hank also was selfish and if Connor wanted to be with him or just spend time with him, he wouldn’t stop him.

\---

Hank was sitting across from the android they had arrested earlier, in the interrogation room while Connor was walking from one side to another behind Hank. His name was Joshua, he was a VB800 model, Connor registered his serial number and saved it for later. It didn’t matter for the current interrogation.

“Why did you kill these Androids?” Connor asked in a cold voice, meant to intimidate. He kept the stress level of the suspect on his HUD. The yellow LED of Joshua turned red and the stress level moved up to 50%, still a safe level.

“I didn’t kill anyone,” he claimed. Hank leaned in and cocked his head.

“Then why were you hiding at the crime scene? Seems incredibly suspicious,” Hank asked in a gentle voice. The stress level went up to 53%, Connor noticed.

“I found Marc, I wanted to visit him but I found him dead and I was scared, I didn’t want to be deactivated. Someone else must have already called the police because they were already at the door shortly after I had arrived. I panicked and hid.,” he explained.

“That’s not how it works anymore. You’re people now, so they have to give you a fair trial.” Connor could see the stress level sink to a save 45% as Hank said this.

“But I didn’t kill him. Marc and I were friends,” Joshua insisted. Connor placed his hands on the table and leaned over, staring at Joshua.

“So, you won’t mind if we read out your memory?” he asked in a threatening voice. Connor didn’t really believe he was the murderer but it was his job to be the threatening one.

“If that helps showing you, I didn’t kill him,” Joshua said. Connor was surprised, he hadn’t expected it to be so easy. He extended his hand and pulled back the skin, grabbing Joshua’s arm. His eyes fluttered and the LED spun yellow as he downloaded the memory. He seemed to have been telling the truth. Connor dropped the arm again and nodded at Hank, indicating that they were done while he uploaded the memory into the file to access for everyone involved in the investigation. It would have needed to be checked if the memory could be used later. Memories could be tampered with, so they would have to make sure it was original.

\---

The analysis of the memory had come back only shortly after and it was valid so they weren’t a step closer to finding the actual murderer. Connor was pacing up and down behind his desk, LED spinning aggressively red.

“We didn’t make any progress at all. We didn’t find anything about the murders.” He felt tense.

Hank sighed. He got up and walked around the table and put a hand on Connor’s shoulder.

“Calm down, Con. This is how investigations go sometimes.” Connor turned around and immediately the LED changed color from red to blue and stopped spinning. Hank had not expected him calming down that quickly. He had been super stressed just a second ago and now he looked relaxed and calm as he looked into Hank’s eyes. “We’re gonna find them, sometimes it’s harder but they will make a mistake and we will get them,” Hank reassured. Suddenly Connor made a step forwards, slumped against Hank and hugged him. Hank hadn’t expected such a reaction but there was no way he wouldn’t hug him back. Connor closed his eyes and let out a content sigh as he buried his face in Hank’s shoulder.

“We will figure this out,” Hank reassured him again. “But we’re still at work and Gavin is already staring.” Connor pulled back again but now smiled at Hank instead of frowning and looking stressed. Hank enjoyed this look much more.


	6. Chapter 6

Three more days of going through files and investigating minor cases passed until the next thing happened. They were working as Connor received an urgent call. His LED spinning red as he answered it in his head. It was still early in the morning.

“We need to go now,” he said urgently after finishing the call. “Quickly.” Hank didn’t ask why, he just grabbed his coat and followed Connor to his car.

“An android called, she felt threatened, the 911 dispatcher thought it could be our case so they called us.” Connor explained. Hank tossed Connor the keys with a sigh. They would be faster if Connor drove. They might be able to catch the murderer on the scene and hopefully safe the android. Connor got them to the address in just ten minutes. No one else was there yet, they pulled their guns as they entered the building, quickly finding the flat the call had come from. The door had been broken down more violently than usual. Hank immediately saw two people, one lying on the ground, the other bent over the first.

“DPD, drop your weapon and raise your hands.” The figure carefully stood up and made two steps back. Connor rushed to the body lying on the ground, Hank didn’t pay much attention to them. He was entirely focused on the person standing in front of him. He nearly missed the quick movement that was followed by a shot and a piercing pain in his shoulder as he struggled to keep upright. The figure jumped out of the open window behind them, Hank sent a bullet after them but didn’t hit, before he fell to his knees. Nothing vital had been hurt but his shoulder still hurt like a bitch.

Connor was with him only seconds later and held him up.

“Hank! Shit, you’re gonna be alright,” he said, apparently panicking internally, LED spinning red.

“’course I will, it’s just the shoulder, no reason to worry. What about her?” Hank asked and nodded to the android lying on the ground. Connor looked over and shook his head, sadly.

“Nothing to be done. She managed to show me what had happened before she shut down. I wasn’t able to help her.

“Shit. But you got information?” Hank asked, holding his shoulder. Connor nodded. At least he hadn’t been shot for nothing then. Now finally more officers were arriving at the scene.

“Hank, what happened?” Chris Miller asked, rushing over to them.

“Nearly had them, but they managed to get out the window and shot me in the process,” Hank explained, still hanging in Connor’s arm.

“I’ll get you to the hospital,” Connor explained, trying to pull Hank up.

“Absolutely not, you’re staying here, making sure nothing is missed, I’m sure someone else can drive me,” Hank opposed. Connor didn’t seem pleased. He knelt down in front of Hank, grabbing him by the collar.

“I’m taking you,” he insisted. Hank’s hand came up, cupping Connor’s face with his uninjured arm.

“I’m gonna be fine Connor. Look at me, I’m here talking, I’m awake, I’m bleeding, yes but I’m gonna be fine. Just finish up here, make sure nothing is missed, alright?” Hank said. He was in a lot of pain, but he knew it would be fine.

“I come see you as soon as I’m done here,” Connor answered. Chris took over at this point.

“I’m getting you to the hospital,” he announced and with a grunt, Hank let him pull him up. Connor forcefully cut of every thought about wanting to follow Hank. He would be fine and as soon as Connor was done, he would go and see Hank. For now, he had a mission to accomplish, that was what he was built for and he could do this. He focused on the crime scene.

The murder had been committed very similarly to all the other victims; Connor just couldn’t figure out what was connecting them. They were all different models, different genders, the only thing Connor could see was that they lived alone. This was at least a small lead. They probably were chosen because it’s easier to do this without witnesses. Despite the murderer fleeing he wasn’t able to find any viable traces of DNA in the apartment.

He pulled back the picture he had gotten from the dead android. It wasn’t very clear but he quickly ran it through the database. For a human it would have been instantaneous. He got five matches which was normal with this kid of blurry pictures. He filed them all away but kept one open as the most probable. Amy Grace Wright, a real estate agent in Detroit. Born June 3rd 2004 in Lansing. All the other matches were living far away, Connor would consider them if Wright would turn out to be definitely innocent.

After he had catalogued and uploaded everything he had found on the crime scene, he finally allowed himself to think about Hank again. He realized he had gotten a text message, he just has had this blocked too so he could completely focus on the case.

Anderson, Hank: _I’m fine, Chris dropped me off, they got the bullet out in a matter of minutes, I can go home soon._

#313 248 317-51, Connor: _I’m picking you up._

Hank’s car was still standing outside, Connor still had the keys in his pocket and got inside the car. Quickly he made his way to the hospital. After driving five minutes he got another message.

Anderson, Hank: _They already discharged me, I’m waiting outside._

Connor rolled his eyes, he could have probably easily waited inside, it was cold out. But Hank did seem like the kind of person who didn’t like hospitals.

Sure enough as Connor arrived the Lieutenant was standing outside, boots covered in snow, his arm immobilized against his chest so he wouldn’t move his shoulder. Connor already doubted Hank would allow himself the time needed to heal.

Hank seemed tired and for now he seemed content to let Connor drive him home, he closed his eyes and dozed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't gotten any comments on the last three comments, so I'm not sure if I should continue with this fic, cause I'm pretty demotivated now, since no one seems to be really interested.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I want to quickly say two things.   
> First of all, thank you everyone for commenting, it helps a lot. If I haven't replied yet, I will hopefully get to it soon.   
> Secondly I want to apologize for what I wrote in the notes of the last chapter. It's true, I did feel disappointed and I was doubting if I should continue putting it out there, but now with a little distance I see that the comment was a little pressing.   
> I hope you will continue to enjoy the fic. 
> 
> Also in case someone started to read the other unfinished fic I have: "I forgot to tell you" I was planning to update it earlier but some stuff came up so I will update on Thursday or Friday.

At home Connor directed Hank to the couch and made him sit down.

“Are you alright? Do you need another pillow? Something else?” Connor asked worried, hands on Hank’s shoulder as he hovered over him.

“I’m fine, Connor, really, it hurts, sure, but everything will be fine soon. I’m just tired from the pain meds they gave me,” Hank explained. “I will just take a nap.”

Connor let his eyes wander over Hank’s body, quickly scanning him and from everything he could tell he did seem to be fine. It didn’t stop him from worrying. Even as Hank lied down on the couch next to him, he didn’t move. These feelings were new for Connor, he had never worried for anyone like that before. Sure, he had been concerned for Hank’s safety before. But before he deviated these feelings hadn’t been nearly as strong so even finding him passed out on the kitchen floor with a gun had not fazed Connor too much. He had to remind himself that it wasn’t his fault that he hadn’t felt these things back them. After his deviation he had not been in such a situation yet. Sure, there was the thing in the CyberLife Tower but there he had mostly run on adrenalin. Now in the quiet of their home he allowed himself to truly worry for the first time. Hank was a human, he couldn’t switch out parts that would get damaged, he was much more fragile than an android. Connor didn’t want to lose him. He looked at the relaxed face, lying next to his thigh. Hank was good looking but even more so now that he was asleep. Connor carefully grabbed him and pulled him closer so Hank’s head was now resting in his lap, he gently pushed his fingers through Hank’s hair. The Lieutenant let out a faint sigh and rolled over, pressing his face against Connor’s leg.

Connor didn’t mind sitting unmoving for a while; he used the time to go through the case files again. It was 4:23 pm when Hank moved again and opened his eyes.

“What?” he asked confused. “I’m sure I did not fall asleep like this.” Connor knew if he’d been able to blush, he would in this moment.

“You looked uncomfortable,” was everything Connor answered. He very carefully did not mention that he mainly wanted to be close to him to remind himself, Hank was still there.

“And a pillow wasn’t available?” Hank asked teasingly.

“I was worried,” Connor admitted, trying to slightly shift the topic. He noticed that Hank hadn’t moved away.

“I told you, nothing to worry about,” Hank reassured him.

“This time maybe, but what if it happens again and the bullet hits a vital organ?” Connor seemed genuinely distressed. Hank sighed, he pushed himself up from Connor’s lap and pulled him into a one-armed hug. The android slumped against him, careful not to disturb the left shoulder.

“That’s a risk we need to learn to live with in our line of work,” Hank explained, carefully running his fingers through Connor’s hair. Hank briefly wondered why he allowed himself to get this lost in the hug, maybe it was because of the painkillers or maybe he just had stopped caring where it would lead if he allowed himself to enjoy Connor’s presence. He still felt bad but he had just been shot so maybe he deserved a hug from his perfect and attractive android partner. Probably not but with Connor giving it to him so readily he wasn’t strong enough to push him away.

Hank felt Connor’s face press against his neck, felt small breathes brush the sensitive skin, Connor didn’t even need to breath but he still did.

“I don’t want to lose you, Hank,” Connor mumbled.

“I will try not to kick the bucket too soon then,” Hank promised with a small chuckle and felt Connor’s hands grabbing his T-Shirt. It was amazing how much had changed since Connor had found him on his kitchen floor, blackout drunk after attempting suicide. He felt like he had a reason to live again. The longer they sat like that the more painfully aware he got of the lips against the side of his neck, the little moving air from Connor breathing and the warm body pressed against him.

Connor pulled back and looked at him, his usually perfectly styled hair had gotten ruffled, his eyes looked wet. Could androids cry? Maybe they could. They stared at each other for seconds, Hank felt as if he was drowning in these soft brown eyes in front of him. He wondered how Connor’s lips would feel. Would they feel like human lips? Or more like plastic? He had touched Connor’s hand before and the skin had felt pretty human so he assumed the lips would be similar. And then suddenly he didn’t have to wonder anymore because Connor had leaned in and kissed him, just for a second before he pulled back again and looked to the ground.

Connor couldn’t remember giving his permission for the kissing prompt to be executed. But he replayed the kiss and it had clearly been him who had initiated the contact and it had felt so good. Hank had not pushed him away but he was now staring at him with an expression Connor didn’t know how to interpret.

“I should get changed,” he said quickly and went into the bedroom. He was still wearing his working clothes; they were formal and Hank didn’t like him sitting around the house in these. Too stiff and looked to uncomfortable, he had said. They had gotten some clothes for Connor to wear when he had moved in but as he opened his part of the closet, he realized that he had dropped coffee over his clothes yesterday and both sets where now in the laundry. He turned to Hank’s closet and opened a door he knew had clothes behind Hank wasn’t wearing regularly anymore and got a hoodie and some sweatpants. Both were way to big on Connor but the hoodie felt good nearly his whole palms were covered and it reached down, nearly covering his whole butt. It probably had been a bit long on Hank as well. He was able to pull the pants together so they would stay up.

Hank was trying to work through what had just happened. He certainly had assumed, Connor had feelings for him but he was still surprised by the kiss. And after, Connor had quickly fled the room. He had tried to ignore his feelings, tried to push it away but now that he knew what it felt like to kiss Connor he didn’t want to anymore. He wanted to be selfish, he wanted to keep Connor for himself. Even though he was sure, Connor would do much better with someone else, someone younger and especially someone less broken. His thoughts where interrupted by Connor returning and Hank’s brain left him for a moment. Connor was wearing an old band hoodie from him. This thing had been black once upon a time but by now it was more a medium shade of grey, the band logo nearly vanished. It had been one of his favourite hoodies back in his twentieth and he had not been able to throw it away. It looked too big on Connor, even though he wasn’t small. If Hank wouldn’t have been sitting down it would have swept him from his feet. Why did he look this good in Hank’s old washed-out clothes?

“My clothes are in the laundry so I borrowed some of…” Connor stopped as he met Hank’s eyes who were staring at him, mouth gaping open. “I’m sorry, I should have asked,” Connor says, fiddling with the hem of the hoodie.

“No, no it’s fine, feel free to wear my clothes,” Hank said, a little too quickly. Connor sat back down on the sofa but this time some distance between them. The silence was awkward, Hank wanted to break it but he didn’t know how. He could probably just pull Connor in again; Connor would probably like him to but he didn’t. But he didn’t, instead he just turned on the TV.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Comments are what's keeping me motivated.  
> You can follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/datcarovieh) or [tumblr](https://dat-carovieh.tumblr.com/)
> 
> The title is a line from the Song "The Horror and the Wild" from The Amazing Devil. You can check out their amazing music [here](https://theamazingdevil.bandcamp.com/album/the-horror-and-the-wild)


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